July, 2014

Since it would be impossible for me to feel more wide, I’ve decided to no longer give a flying eff. I want to wear stripes, so I wear stripes. I found this little gem at my favorite San Diego boutique Mimi and Red. Yes, I spend a great deal of money at this store. This dress is magically stretchy so it hugs baby Rocco without being vulgar! After watching the adorable Begin Again, I was super inspired by Keira Knightley’s adorable character’s quirky, sweet style! It was girlie and chic, but with a decidedly menswear inspired, hence my oxfords. I’ve also been taking an au naturel approach to my hair… I let it do whatever the bloody hell it wants to and I just don’t care…. It’s really freeing! I also wash it maybe once every 9 days… Yeah, I’m seriously winning at life.

I love products. You know this, I know this. I love them. We also know I’ve been on this whole non-toxic shenanigans kick. Now that I know how much crap they put in our skincare I can’t go back, or at least I personally couldn’t go back. I’ve actually decided that people that take the attitude of ignorance is bliss probably aren’t best suited to be my friends… I get it, everything can kill ya, everything causes cancer blah, blah, blah… but come on, what we put in and on our bodies[our skin is our largest organ, for real] is serious. Those are my two bugaboos these days and that’s not to say you have to toss everything and be scared of every product, but just start making more educated purchases. It doesn’t have to be done in one day!!! And to help narrow down the selection, I have found quite the impressive list of preggo safe/people safe products that will have you saying peace out to your toxic junk. Enjoy!!!!!!

This was given to me by a preggo bestie and now that she has her 5th kid and is still an all around major style/product maven, I gladly accepted and became instantly obsessed. It smells like heaven and melts into your skin. You can find Goe Oil online, warning, this is probably my most expensive Must Have, but damn it’s so worth it!!! I use it sparingly and trust me a little goes a very long way because it’s super concentrated. It’s great for growing belly or makes your legs look amazing if you are wearing shorts or a skirt. It’s brilliant. Young Living Oils… hmmmmm we are gonna have a really long talk about those really soon because I have some majorly exciting news about my pretty much non-existent acne and my favorite new tension headache remedy, that totes works, but for now I tell you about lemon oil. So long hormonal acne. Seriously. It’s magic. It’s made from like 300 lemons or something crazy and it’s literally straight lemon oil. I slather all over my face at night and watch acne disappear. For crazy sensitive skin you should mix it with a high quality unrefined, raw coconut oil, but I apply it neat and watch my skin glow. When using this stuff you MUST use sunscreen because it will create brown spots if it’s exposed to sun. But hot damn for less that 15 dollars a bottle I think I’ve found my miracle cure and, of course, Preggo Safe!!!! My belly saver, Almond Glow. As you grow your tummy gets a touch itchy now and again, even without the presence of stretch marks and this definitely prevents itchy belly. There are rumors that oiling up has nothing to do with actually preventing stretch marks, but I ain’t chancing it. I slather my tummy with this oil after every shower and before bed every night. It’s not super quick to absorb, so I don’t apply if I’m going from shower directly out into the heat, but it is magic. My skin has never felt so soft or smelled so yummy.I’ve written about The Holistic Science Co before and this cocoa butter has been amazing!!! I slather it on after my Almond Glow and just let my skin soak up the moisture. It’s thick, but doesn’t feel heavy when it’s applied. I’m desperately low, so I will definitely be restocking soon! It’s sold locally at framers markets in San Diego or via their website. The owner and her crew are seriously cool people. This is a great company to support! I use this on my tummy, ta-tas, elbows and knees! I use the Burt’s Bees Richly Replenishing lotion or Honest Co Lotion on my legs and arms. When I apply lotion at night, I literally apply a thick coat all over and don’t even rub it in… Sounds awful, but I wake up so moisturized that it’s worth the lil bit of sticky.Now my Josie Maran additions, Cleansing Oil and Infinity Oil. These were highly recommended by 2 preggo buddies. I’ve purchased Josie’s Argan Oil before only to find my skin highly moisturized and highly broken out. When Mama of 5 told me she also couldn’t use the oil but could use both of these products without a breakout I was intrigued. Then another good friend was swearing by the same products… So I went to Sephora and got a few samples and lo and behold, no breakouts. Just glowy skin!!! Who knew!?!? 10, even 5 years ago I would laugh in your face if you told me to buy oil for my acne prone skin. Now it’s literally the only thing I apply to my face and body!!! I went and got a facial 2 weeks ago and my aesthetician, Ann, the queen of skincare told me my skin looked great and that this kid wasn’t doing a number on me I swear my first thought was, it’s all the oil!!!!

I’m officially obsessed with this salad. I eat it 3-4 times a week and it has yet to get old!!! The base is TJ’s cruciferous crunch and it is DELISH. It’s a mixture of kale, shredded cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts. YUM. I’m a little concerned with all of Trader Joe’s recalls lately, so if you are staying away I think a bed of shredded kale would be a perfect base. Definitely wash your greens REALLY well especially if you’re knocked up! I swear this salad will complete you!!!! Enjoy.

Mix everything together, top with dressing and let sit for at least 5 minutes. I think if you can let it sit for 15-20 you are gonna love it even more. This salad is seriously my favorite lil’ invention of recent weeks. Don’t wait to try this one, make it while berries and avocados are plentiful!!!!!!

I was able to make a trip back to Georgia in late May to visit all my family and see all my best peeps and also to have my Filipino baby shower. I don’t know if you know this, but The Captain is Filipino. I have Filipino family. It’s like My Big Fat Greek Wedding except with more gambling and roasted pig. The shower was more entertaining than I can possibly describe to you! From the limitless questions to the very anatomically correct Asian baby boy figure adorning my super non-vegan cake, seriously. It was a hoot. I am truly blessed and Rocco was sufficiently showered with gifts!!! I wore this adorable Kohls dress that was passed to me by a recently preggs buddy. I am obsessed with it. I wish it was still available online so you all could buy it!!! I think this is the perfect preggo dress. It’s form fitting, but not skin tight and it’s long enough that, as you grow, you don’t start to worry about showing your lady bits. The pattern is pretty magical and it’s from Kohls!!! Kohls?!?! I linked to a few super cute tank dresses from various inexpensive stores that are great for showing off your belly and staying cool when it’s hotter than the surface of the sun outside. My shoes are super comfy, stable, and ancient, but those I posted are equally fab, they might not be as stable as mine if you are preggo… these might be a better option! I know they are high, but they are super comfy. I still wear mine!! Swearsies.

So I told you that I would be back sometime to blog… This is that time! Today is SOMETIME!!! I will be 30 weeks this very Thursday, yes the picture is a few days premature, but I’m like a freaking cow right now… I get to post it if I want. I’ve been really loving pregnancy and all the crazy shenanigans that go on. It’s this wonderful and super weird experience and the 3rd trimester brings forth many, many fun new… adventures…

1. You pee yourself, a little bit. I thought this was a post baby phenomena… Nope, turns out the kid pushing on your pelvic muscles can cause pressure on your bladder which in turn can cause you to loose control, say when you sneeze… I cried the first time it happened. Like legit tears. Like what the shit is happening? No amount of kegels will keep you safe. I’m doing them now… Useless.

2. You are equally gassy and horny. I would say this is pretty self explanatory. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I have never felt more disgustingly gassy, but alas, it doesn’t deter my monster sex drive. Awesome. Thanks for that baby!

3. You seriously think about peeing yourself when you finally get comfy in bed and suddenly feel the urge. Again, I think you get it. Once you find yourself a comfortable position it’s inevitable that you will have to pee. It’s hard enough to get up off of a couch or chair, but hoisting your massive body up to go pee once you have finally found a super comfy position is so annoying that you seriously contemplate just letting it go, but of course you must maintain some shred of dignity so you get up every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom.

5. You simultaneously feel like a wildebeest and a freaking goddess. It’s insane that your body can feel so unbelievably foreign to you yet you feel beautiful and strong and all that is woman, blah, blah, blah. Seriously though, getting used to your changing body is wayyyy difficult, but at the same time I have chosen to embrace my big ol’ belly and I really think wearing stylish clothes that show off the bump really help you feel beautiful! And hey non-preggos, if your friend is knocked up and looks good. TELL HER! It is seriously enough to reduce me to happy tears when someone tells me that I’m glowing or that I look beautiful.

6. Your balance is soooo not what it used to be. What’s up with this? I’m still rocking my wedges, but I’ll be honest, a skinny stiletto heel? HELL NO. It ain’t gonna happen. Dude, it’s hard enough to wear tennis shoes and not fall over. Like literally fall over. That’s definitely a weird one for me… My standing tree pose isn’t what it used to be.

7. You need naps after your naps. So the tired thing comes back with a vengeance in the 3rd trimester. I’ve heard people joke that it’s nature’s way of giving you some sleep before you never sleep everagain in your entire life, or so I’ve been told a few hundred times. I seriously woke up one day drove to breakfast and came home around 10… Fell asleep on the couch for 2 hours. Then went upstairs to put clean sheets on the bed and fell asleep for another hour… WHAT the WHAAA?! And ya know when you take a nap and then you have a harder time falling asleep that night?? Yeah, not a problem. By 8:30 out like a light.

8. There’s sweat ERRYWHERE. Oh Lordy. I am sweating all the time. [Side note: If anyone ever tells you that you don’t need AC in San Diego, they are full of shit. LOTS and LOTS of shit. It’s hawt. If I didn’t have air conditioning I would’ve moved to Antarctica during my pregnancy. There are penguins there right?!?] So back to the sweat… You sweat in places you didn’t know you could sweat! Back sweat, boob sweat, thigh sweat, so on and so forth. It’s nasty. I shower at least twice a day. I’m literally squealing with excitement for Fall and Winter. Praise The Lord for seasons.

9. You loose patience for just about everybody. It’s just crazy what hormones do to you. I have unfollowed about 30 people on Facebook because I just can’t deal with people’s opinions and whining. Friends and family seem to always be doing things that drive me bonkers and then sometimes for no reason I just want to start punching people in the face. I may or may not have told a customer service agent [who was a serious asshole and a liar] that I was going to have to punch him in the face. He was on the phone and didn’t like my threats. Pansy. Elizabeth Banks knows what I’m talking about, see here. [Sidenote: This movie is infinitely less awful if you have been pregnant. Still, it’s pretty terrible.]

10. Feeling your baby move NEVER gets old. I can’t tell you how excited I get every single time Rocco moves. I mean, I like want to run out and tell everyone. I’m loving it. It’s so wild! I seriously want to call someone every time I feel him move. I’ve taken about 200 videos of my tummy dancing. Totally hoping he’s a lil’ Filipino dance machine… Maybe he’s a future member of the Jabbawockeez!! OMG. Dreams coming true.

I’m tired, like, all the time… So I suppose it’s fitting that when the San Diego Ballet was doing Sleeping Beauty, I had to go. I should’ve thought about that a little more. A preggo having to sit still for 3 acts, no matter how short the acts, is quite a challenge. Then being super thirsty, yet also not wanting to have to get up to pee every 3 seconds… Yeah, it was probably not my best decision, but alas I went. I could’ve used my own Prince Charming to wake me up. I didn’t even make it to through the last act… We did go and get froyo after and that was totally worth it. Does that make me sound uncultured? Meh. The ballet was beautiful, swearsies! So, while I wasn’t able to stay awake for the whole thing, I was able to dress up for a few hours and feel super cute, an absolutely must when you start to reach the middle-to-end of your pregnancy! I chose my pregnancy dress up go-to: a tee, a stretchy cotton pencil skirt, heels, and jewels. BOOM. I’m all about embracing the bump! I can’t hide it and I don’t want to!!! I plan on wearing heels for as long as my balance permits me to do so because I’m a cool mom, not a normal mom…

Shopaholic

Shopaholic

Instagram

No images found! Try some other hashtag or username

Disclaimer

Please credit Blissful Happenings appropriately when using images and/or content. Stealing is, like, so very uncool.
Blissful Happenings is a part of an affiliate program that offers a small commission after you click on various links and shop. Rest assured I will never link to anything that I don’t truly love! Blissful Happenings don’t play no games.